Leaf Coverage Reference
Five representative gilding projects, worked all the way from surface area to sheets, books, size open time, and material cost — the full chain behind “how much leaf do I actually need to buy.”
Project size, sheets, books, dry time, and cost
| Project | Area | Waste | Sheets | Books | Size type | Open window | Material cost* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small interior accent or ornament (40 sq in) | 40 sq in | 20% | 5 | 1 | acrylic quick | 2 hr | $6.00 |
| Small picture frame face (80 sq in, ~8×10in) | 80 sq in | 20% | 9 | 1 | oil quick | 8 hr | $6.00 |
| Carved frame moulding (500 sq in) | 500 sq in | 20% | 53 | 3 | oil quick | 8 hr | $18.00 |
| Exterior sign lettering (300 sq in of letterforms) | 300 sq in | 35% | 36 | 2 | oil slow | 24 hr | $12.00 |
| Large flat panel (2,000 sq in, ~14 sq ft) | 2000 sq in | 10% | 194 | 8 | oil slow | 24 hr | $48.00 |
*Material cost shown at an example price of $6.00per book, standard 3.375in sheets, no labor included. This is a placeholder for comparing rows against each other, not a real or expected market price — use your own supplier’s price per book in the Gilding Cost Calculator for an actual estimate. Size open-window hours are shown at a reference 70°F / 50% relative humidity — your workshop’s actual conditions will shift these.
How each column is derived
Every row starts from a surface area and a waste allowance appropriate to that project’s level of detail, run through the same coverage math the Leaf Sheet Coverage Calculatoruses: the area is inflated by the waste percentage, divided by the standard sheet’s 11.39 square-inch area, and rounded up to a whole sheet count. That sheet count then runs through the Book-of-Leaf Quantity Calculator’s logic to get whole books, since leaf is sold by the book, not the sheet.
The open-window figure comes from the Size & Adhesive Dry-Time Calculator, run at a reference room temperature and humidity for whichever size type suits that project’s scale and setting — a fast acrylic size for a small interior accent finished in one sitting, a quick oil size for a moderate interior piece, and a slow oil size for anything large, exterior, or worked across more than one session.
Material cost comes from the Gilding Cost Calculator, using each row’s books figure at the same example price per book across every row, with no labor added, so the column is a fair like-for-like comparison of how project size and waste allowance alone move material cost.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do the numbers in this table come from?
Every figure is computed live from the same functions behind the individual calculators — leafSheetCoverage() for sheets and books, bookOfLeafQuantity() for the purchased-sheet and overage figures, gildingSizeDryTime() for the tack and open-window hours, and gildingCost() for the material cost. Nothing here is a separately typed-in table, so it can't drift out of sync with the calculators.
Why is the cost only a material cost, with no labor?
This table is meant as a fast, comparable reference across project sizes, and labor hours vary too much by gilder and technique to give a meaningful default. Add your own labor hours and rate in the Gilding Cost Calculator to get a full project total for your specific job.
Is $6 per book a real price I should expect to pay?
No — it's a placeholder used consistently across every row so the sheet-to-book-to-cost relationship is easy to compare project to project. Gold leaf pricing varies by karat, supplier, and material (genuine vs. composition), and it isn't something this site tracks or quotes. Use your own supplier's actual price per book in the Gilding Cost Calculator for a real estimate.
Why does the exterior lettering row use a higher waste percentage than the large panel?
Waste tracks how much of each sheet ends up trimmed away as scrap relative to the finished area, not the project's overall size. Fine lettering has a lot of edge and very little flat area per letterform, so it wastes leaf at a much higher rate than a large, flat, uninterrupted panel does.
Why does the small interior accent use acrylic size while the others use oil size?
Acrylic (synthetic) size tacks in a fraction of the time oil size does, which suits a small piece finished in one short sitting. Larger or exterior work benefits more from oil size's longer open window, or — for exterior work specifically — its better weather resistance once cured.
Educational reference only. Treat every figure here as a planning estimate — always confirm size tack by touch (the knuckle test) before laying leaf, and buy a little extra rather than cutting a book count exactly to the calculated minimum.
Use it with
- Leaf Sheet Coverage Calculator — run your own surface area and waste allowance instead of one of the five examples above.
- Book-of-Leaf Quantity Calculator— take any sheet count the rest of the way to books, packs, and overage for your supplier’s own packaging sizes.
- Size & Adhesive Dry-Time Calculator — adjust tack and open-window hours for your actual room temperature and humidity.
- Gilding Cost Calculator — add your real price per book and labor hours for a full project total.
- How many books should you actually order? — why the overage in the table above is insurance, not waste.